From the Pulpit...

From our initial state born into sin, we have to change our willingness toward God. We start out wanting to please ourselves, and this results in the kind of misdirected religion that the Pharisees and the scribes exhibited. It was hypocritical, filthy, lying, greedy, and just sinful all the way around. But if we repent of these kinds of things and change our minds so that we are willing to draw near to the Lord and have Him as our protector, guide, and savior, then we will be rescued from our stubborn, dirty lives.